Grate



(No Model.)

W. FITZGERALD.

4 GRATE. 9; No. 343,447. Patented June 8, 1886.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM FITZGERALD, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

FGRATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 343,447, dated dune 8,1886.

Application filed'Dcccmber 21, 1885.

To all whom, it may concern. I I

Be it known that I, WILLIAM FITZGERALD of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Grates, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to gratesfor furnaces, stoves, ranges, &c., and hasfor its object to provide a grate of such construction as that the draftof air to the bed of burning fuel shall be ample, and be evenlydistributed thereover and at the same time be directly upwardtherethrough.

To this end my invention consists in a grate having the front and rearwalls of its-airchambers inclined rearwardly and upwardly for a portionof the distance, and extending vertically to the top of the grate forthe remaining distance, whereby the inrushing air will readily enter thelower part of said chambers and be deflected and gradually turnedyerltically upward through the bed of burning My invention also consistsin the construction and arrangement of parts, all hereinafter described,and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification,Figure l represents a sectional side elevation of my grate in positionin a furnace, the latter being also represented in section. Fig. 2represents a top View of my grate. Fig. 3 represents a modification ofthe same.

Like letters represent like parts in all of the figures.

' In the drawings, A represents a grate-bar, provided with ribs, B, onboth sides thereof, as shown in Fig. 2. Said ribs form the front andrear walls of the air or draft chambers of the grate, and extendobliquely upward and rearward from the bottom of said bar for a portionof the distance, as represented at O, and from this point they extenddirectly upward to the top of the bar, as represented at D. Each bar isstepped or notched on its under side (in side view) somewhat after theman ner of the teeth of an ordinary saw, the number of such notchescorresponding with the number of ribs, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. Thebottom face of the side walls or partitions Serial No. 186,350. (Nomodel.)

of said chambers are thus made to incline upwardly and rearwardly from apoint beginning at the lower end of each front wall to the front face ofthe rear wall of each air-chamber.

The ribs B on each bar are so formed or constructed as that they willregister or coincide with those on each and every other bar, so thatwhen a number of bars are brought together air-chambers of the characterhereinbefore mentioned will be formed, as will be readily understood.

The bottom face of the side walls or partitions of the chambers beinginclined upward and rearwardly, as described, leaves the lower point ofthe ribs or walls B projecting downward, as shown, so that the inrushingair will readily be caught by the front face of the rear wall and bedeflected and gradually be turned Vertically upward through the bed ofburning fuel.

The sides of the ribs B on one side of the bar are parallel from top tobottom with the sides of the ribs on the opposite side of the bar, so

that when two or more'bars are brought propall liability of anindividual bar or any number of bars twisting or rocking laterally ontheir supports is avoided.

It is preferred to provide a series of supplemental chambers, a, at thefront and rear of the grate adjacent to the bar or beam b, on which theends of the grate-bars A rest, as shown only in Fig. 1. Theseair-chambers may be of any convenient form, their purpose being to keepthe beam b cool.

Each bar is provided on its top with the usual groove or channel,E, tohold or retain some of the ashes of the burning fuel, and thus preventthe grate from burning out.

The arrows inthese drawings show the course of the air up through theair-chambers and bed of burning fuel.

I prefer to couple or connect the bars together at their ends by meansof what is commonly known as a male and female coupling-that is, the endof each bar is provided on one side with projections or lugs F, and onits opposite side with slots G, the lugs or pro jections of one barfitting into the slots of the adjacent bar, as clearly shown in Figs. 2and 3.

It is obvious that my grate-bar may be varied in form without departingfrom the spirit of the invention. For instance, the ribs may be formedon one side of the bars only, as represented in Fig. 3, and the bars maybe so formed l leaving no dead coals or fuel on the front part or otherportion of the grate. Practical experience has also shown that a grateconstructed in accordance with my invention is lessliable to burn outthan any with which I am now acquainted.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim- 1. A grate-bar providedwith ribs on its side designed to form the front and rear walls of theair-cham hers, which ribs areinclined rearwardly and upwardly for aportion of their length, and directly upward to the top of the bar forthe remaining distance of their length, as set forth.

2. A grate-bar having the side walls of the air-chambers formed thereinsubstantially parallel with each other, and the front and rear wallsinclining first rearwardly and upwardly for a portion of their lengthand then directly upward to the top of the grate for the remainingdistance of their length, as set forth.

3. A grate having the side walls of the main ai r-chambers formedtherein substantially pat"- allel with each other, and the front andrear walls inclining first rearwardly and upwardly for a portion oftheir length and then directly upward to the top of the grate, andsupplemental air-charnbers a at the front and rear of the grate adjacentto the beam or hearing upon which it rests, as set forth.

4. A grate-bar provided with ribs on its side designed to form the frontand rear walls of the air-chambers, which ribs areinclined rearwardlyand upwardly for a portion of their length and directly upward to thetop of the bar for the remaining distance, and having the bottom face ofthe bar between said ribs or wall inclined upwardly and rearwardly froma point beginning at the lower end of each front wall to the front faceof the rear wall, as set forth.

5. A grate having the side walls of the airchambers formed thereinsubstantially parallel with each other, and the front and rear wallsinclining rearwardly and upwardly for a portion of their distancethrough the grate and directly upward to the top of the grate for theremaining distance,and having the bottom face of the side walls orpartitions of said air-chambers inclined upwardly and rearwardly from apoint beginning at the lower end of each front wall to the front face ofthe rear wall, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM FITZGERALD.

\Vitnesses:

JOHN C. BAIRD, XVALTER S. BEDDING.

